The sole survivor of the latest of the United States extrajudicial attacks against four vessels in the Eastern Pacific is being sought 740 kilometers from Acapulco to be rescued by the Mexican Navy (SEMAR). US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has reported on his X account that 14 crew members were on board the alleged narco-boats who were killed in the operation, whom the minister accuses of belonging to “designated terrorist organizations.” President Claudia Sheinbaum has asked the SEMAR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address these operations in a working group with Washington. “We do not agree with these attacks, with how they are carried out,” he stressed at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Mexican Navy (SEMAR) is maintaining a search and rescue operation 400 nautical miles (approximately 740 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco, according to a statement."In compliance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and following a request from the United States Coast Guard, the Mexican Navy is participating in a maritime search and rescue operation," the agency said. An ocean patrol vessel and a maritime patrol aircraft are participating in the operation, which aims to"safeguard human life at sea."
The president received news of the rescue at her cabinet meeting this morning. She initially confirmed the rescue from the National Palace, but a member of her team clarified that it had not yet occurred."It appears there was one survivor, and the Navy, for humanitarian reasons and in compliance with international treaties, decided to rescue this person," the president explained. For now, the crew member has not been found, and the search is ongoing, according to SEMAR (Secretary of the Navy) and diplomatic sources in Washington confirmed to this newspaper.
However, Sheinbaum has requested that the situation be addressed within the framework of the security agreement between Mexico and the United States."It's important. I raised the issue today with the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs that these issues be discussed at a table, because we want all international treaties to be complied with," Sheinbaum added, rejecting the way the United States has carried out these attacks, without evidence and killing civilians.
Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, head of the Navy, will discuss with the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, how to proceed in the face of these incidents, which are recurring in the Caribbean and, since last week, also in the Pacific. One of the most recent occurred off the Colombian coast and left five people dead, escalating tensions between Washington and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who described the attacks as murders that violate international law."Today we suspended all payments to Colombia. Let [Petro] be careful, or we will take very severe measures against him and his country," Trump responded forcefully.
Since early September, the US president's crusade against drug traffickers has served as justification for 14 attacks without congressional approval. The first were carried out in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, where Washington has deployed a flotilla of ships and sent its largest aircraft carrier, increasing pressure on Venezuela and lengthening the shadow of Washington's interventionism over Nicolás Maduro's government. Tuesday's attack took place on one of the most active sea routes for smuggling drugs into Mexico from Colombia.
In total, 57 civilians have been killed, and there are three survivors. One of them, Jeison Obando Pérez, a 34-year-old Colombian who was repatriated by the United States after surviving an alleged narco-submarine attack on October 16 in the Caribbean Sea, was deported to Colombia with brain trauma, sedated, drugged, and on a ventilator.
